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Last month, we wrote about an accident at a New Jersey amusement park in which five visitors suffered injuries on a water ride. While riding the Gauley at the Mountain Creek amusement park, 11 people became trapped at the mouth of a tunnel, five of whom suffered scrapes and bruises requiring medical attention.

While Mountain Creek and its current owners seem to have a good safety record, that particular ride was left over from a previous amusement park on the same property that went bankrupt after a number of expensive and high profile personal injury lawsuits.

Further investigation into the incident reveals that not only is the 30-year-old Gauley unsafe, but also suggests that the current staff of Mountain Creek is ill prepared to respond to emergencies.

It was recently revealed that the accident occurred when the vinyl liner inside of a tunnel ripped apart. It ended up trapping 11 riders and causing injuries to five of them. Furthermore, the real hero responsible for coordinating the rescue of these trapped riders was not a member of the park’s staff, but rather an off-duty officer from the Bergen County Sherriff’s Department.

Upon observing the trapped riders, the off-duty officer first gave assistance to a 13-year-old boy and then went to alert the lifeguards about the situation. A report issued by the Department of Community Affairs explains that “The guards apparently at first did not comprehend the severity of the situation and did not react.”

One lifeguard finally did jump to the officer’s aid, and together they worked to free the riders trapped under the ripped lining. Meanwhile, it took other staff members approximately 20 minutes to shut off water to the ride. By this time, most victims had already been freed.

The officer’s actions were commendable, and it was incredibly fortunate that he happened to be there that day. However, the report of this incident casts serious doubts on the competency and training of the park’s staff, which should have been primarily responsible for the safety of guests.

Although injuries were minor in this case, things could have been a lot worse.

When customers suffer injuries because of a business’s unsafe property or negligent staff, they may wish to seek appropriate compensation through a premises liability lawsuit.

In any hit-and-run accident, investigators must pursue all possible avenues to see if they can locate the culprit. Many times, however, victims of hit-and-run car accidents are left with the possibility of no one to hold accountable. When a wrongful death is involved, the scenario is even that much more difficult, because the deceased victim is unavailable to give any information as to who might be responsible for the accident.

In a recent Pennsylvania hit-and-run fatal car accident, the hit-and-run driver thought that he could get away with avoiding responsibility by claiming that his car was stolen. His report was filed just after his car was responsible for killing a 46-year-old woman in Wissinoming on Sept. 29.

The deceased victim was headed to work just before 7:00 a.m. All that police knew at that point was that the hit-and-run driver was driving a blue pickup truck with tinted windows.

Thankfully, within the hour, police located the truck nearby on the River waterfront. The truck did have front-end damage consistent with the crash. At the same time, its owner, a 28-year-old man reported the vehicle stolen.

How did investigators locate the car involved in the hit-and-run accident? How did they figure out that the vehicle was not stolen and that the owner himself was responsible for the accident? These are the types of questions that investigators face whenever they are dealing with a hit-and-run accident.

Aside from facing criminal charges of vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter, Delray Beach DUI and making a false statement, this man will also possibly be facing a wrongful death lawsuit by family members on behalf of their loved one for her untimely death.

This book outlines your rights and gives you basic information about enforcing them. In many cases, exercising your legal rights is difficult because the applicable law and court procedures are complicated. You may need a lawyer or a nonprofit counselor to help you with enforcing many of your rights. You may also need help to apply material in this book to your particular situation.

An additional factor is that state instead of federal law governs many of your rights. These laws can vary substantially from state to state. You may need to get more information of the laws applicable to your state. We have tried to point this out whenever possible.

Hiring a Florida Consumer Lawyer. It can be difficult to get legal help when you do not have much money. A good place to start is any option in your area for free legal services. In most communities (or close by if you live in a rural area), there are organizations which provide free legal help to people whose income fall below certain amounts. Although Congress has unfortunately cut back on funding for these organizations, they continue to exist and should be sought out if you need help.

These organizations vary widely on the type of cases they handle. They also have strict income limits so that they are forced to turn away many cases. However, it can’t hurt to ask. If they can’t help you, they generally will make a referral to the appropriate legal organization (often called “bar association”), sometimes for free help from a private lawyer. They also may have special pamphlets or other helpful information on your state’s laws.

Can you imagine serving a prison sentence for a crime you didn’t commit? Dealing with overwhelming feelings of injustice and frustration as you continue to assert your innocence even though no one will listen, not even your trust DUI lawyer? The US legal system is far from infallible. Misleading evidence, false testimony, and social prejudice can all cause innocent people to be declared guilty by a jury of their peers.

A recent article from the Washington Post describes the extreme guilt which plagues one woman every day after her testimony in court helped send an innocent man to jail for 27 years. The woman endured a horrible ordeal when she was raped after arriving at the day care center where she worked. However, after DNA evidence proved that she accused the wrong man of assault, she realized that she was no longer the only victim in this crime.

A truck accident involving a motorcycle over the weekend injured three Wisconsin motorists Saturday night in Sullivan, a town about 30 miles outside Milwaukee. The crash occurred around 7:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 18, about a half mile west of Highland Drive.

According to recent news reports and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the crash occurred when a 1971 Chevrolet Corvette driven by Brain Hartig, of Waukesha, traveling eastbound on US 18 attempted to pass another vehicle by entering the westbound lane. While attempting the pass, Hartig’s Corvette struck the motorcycle of Timothy Thiel, of Jefferson.

Both Thiel and his female passenger, identified as Jody Orchel, of West Allis, were taken to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee by Flight for Life, following the truck accident requiring a pittsburgh truck accident lawyer for one of the victims. According to authorities, neither Thiel nor Orchel were wearing a safety helmet while riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Their current conditions have not been released to the public at this time.

A CONSUMER LAWYER in Florida currently offers a wide range of consulting services:

Brief consulting by telephone on legal issues and case strategy;

Analyzing loan/lease documents or other contracts for consumer law claims;

Conducting legal research with citations to the most recent case law in your jurisdiction;

Preparing expert affidavits (including availability of A CONSUMER LAWYER staff as trial witnesses or referrals to experts in your area);

Drafting or reviewing of discovery and pleadings in all phases of litigation from the initial complaint to appellate briefs.

HOW TO USE A CONSUMER LAWYER SERVICES
If we can help you represent a client, please call the Center, and ask or the intake attorney. Requests may also be made by mail or fax, and you should include the transaction documents and summary of any unusual facts. We will then contact with an estimate of our fee. Our services can often be provided on an expedited basis when necessary.

As a result of certain cy pres awards and funding grants, consultation remains free to legal aid and pro bono lawyers in Massachusetts, Illinois, and California, and elsewhere in cases involving pro bono representation of elderly consumers.

DISCLAIMER
A CONSUMER LAWYER’s consulting services are available only for attorney’s representing consumer clients. We do not provide case assistance directly to non-attorney consumers. By agreeing to a consulting arrangement, A CONSUMER LAWYER is not undertaking representation of your client and is not establishing any form of attorney/client relationship. A CONSUMER LAWYER does not provide any assurances regarding case outcomes and ultimate responsibility for the case remains with you.

Authorities say that a 49-year-old man from Edison was fatally injured in a two vehicle accident early Wednesday morning in Piscataway. The motor vehicle accident occurred shortly before 7:00 a.m. at the intersection between South Washington and Centennial Avenues. Police believe a 59-year-old Dunellen man was driving a 2001 Buick on South Washington, before attempting to make a left-hand turn onto Centennial.
The accident victim was riding a Harley Davidson, which collided with the Buick. Police believe the driver of the Buick turned in front of the path of the Harley, which was travelling straight through the intersection. Authorities say that both drivers had a green light at the intersection where the fatal motorcycle accident occurred. Authorities say the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
Police do not believe that drugs or alcohol played any role in the fatal accident. The motor vehicle wreck remains under investigation.
New Jersey State Police report that Wednesday morning’s crash was the fourth fatal accident of the year in Middlesex County. Others have been reported in Edison, Woodbridge and Perth Amboy. Motorcycle registrations are reportedly on the increase in New Jersey and federal statics show that motorcycle accident fatalities are also on the rise nationwide.
In New Jersey, the Governors Highway Safety Association notes that 59 people were killed in motorcycle accidents in each of the years 2009 and 2010, the latest data available. Typically the numbers are reflected during a nine-month time frame each year with New Jersey’s weather. During the time frame bracketed by the years 2003 and 2007, 377 people were killed in New Jersey motorcycle accidents

Oregon is one of a handful of states that have reported Beverly Hills accidents involving skateboard towing. Emergency room physicians and safety advocates around the world are noting an uptick in the number of so-called skitching accidents, and the injuries they report are serious. In addition to the expected broken bones, ERs have seen patients with spinal fractures and traumatic brain injuries — that is, if the skater has survived the accident at all.

Skateboard towing — also called skitching, longboarding and bumper surfing — is not a new practice. According to seasoned skateboard pros, skitching is a long-accepted mode of transportation in cities like Portland that are friendly to non-motorized vehicles.

Skaters around the country claim that “Back to the Future” had nothing to do with the widespread adoption of skitching. Rather, it came about when city dwellers were pushing their skateboards to work right alongside cars and trucks. The skaters were able to keep up with the commuter traffic, and they soon realized it would be just as easy to hold onto the car in front of them as it would be to push along behind it.

Pros do warn that skitching is a “don’t do this at home, kids” practice. Unskilled skaters and skaters who are just skitching for kicks — “gaming” — should keep off the roads.

Even experienced skitchers can get hurt, though. One man, described by a colleague as a ripper, fell in traffic and was run over by the car behind him. He is now in a wheelchair.

But that was an accident, says another pro. People get hurt in all sorts of activities, but it doesn’t mean the activity is inherently dangerous.

Safety experts — including a neuropsychologist — voice considerable concern about skitching, though. In a car-versus-skateboard accident, the skateboard is going to lose. And skaters tend not to wear enough or appropriate protective gear. As football players have found out, a helmet can’t protect you entirely from a brain injury.

It looks as if skitching is here to stay, especially considering the number of skaters out there who believe they skate better than they walk.

Officials say that 2011 proved to be a deadly in terms of car accidents in New Jersey. The number of fatalities from motor vehicle accidents in the Garden State hit a four year high last year. In all, 594 fatal car accidents were tallied. New Jersey State Police say that 635 people were killed in those accidents on New Jerseys roads in 2011.

While drivers comprised the highest number of overall fatalities, numbering 371, pedestrians were killed at a higher rate than were passengers in motor vehicles. State police say 144 people were killed in pedestrian accidents and 103 passengers died in motor vehicle accidents last year. Seventeen people were the victim of fatal bicycle accidents in New Jersey last year.

State Police say seat belt use has grown tremendously among drivers and front seat passengers in motor vehicles. But officials also say that seat belt use could be higher, especially for passengers in the back seat of cars on New Jersey’s roads. The state Division of Highway Traffic Safety said in a survey released last August that seat belt use among drivers and front seat passengers in New Jersey grew to 94.51 percent last year from 93.73 percent two years ago. Only 61 percent of back seat passengers used a seat belt last year, according to the survey.

Not surprisingly, state police remain concerned over the dangers presented by such issues as drunk driving and distracted driving. A spokesman for the New Jersey State Police says distracted driving caused by electronic devices continue to cause New Jersey drivers to take their eyes off the road, so now not even DUI can be the reason for accidents.

The state police say drivers who take their eyes off the road to glance at their cellphones often can be involved in car accidents. The quick glance toward the electronic device can make the split-second difference between a car accident and a close call on the road, according to the state police. The law enforcement agency spokesman says “Driving while operating a mobile device is just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.”

Authorities say a Subaru ran out of gas on the Garden State Parkway Monday night around 10:00 p.m. The car had stalled in the far right lane. An Egg Harbor man on a motorcycle slammed into the rear of the disabled Subaru. An off-duty police officer arrived at the scene of the initial accident and assisted the two women who were in the Subaru to safety after the motorcycle accident. Then a chain reaction multi-vehicle crash began and was likely due to DUI in Miami.

Authorities say a teenager in a Lincoln Town Car slammed into the abandoned Subaru. A Ford Explorer then came up from behind and crashed into the Lincoln. The 17-year-old driver of the Lincoln scurried out of the wreckage just before the Town Car burst into flames.

The teenager and the driver of the Ford each miraculously escaped personal injury in the multi-vehicle GSP car accident. The two women in the Subaru suffered injuries when the motorcycle crashed into the disabled car. The driver, a 56-year-old woman, and her 75-year-old female passenger were taken to Southern Ocean Medical Center after the accident. Each were treated and released from the hospital.

The motorcyclist was originally transported to Southern Ocean Medical Center after the accident. However, authorities say the 23-year-old Egg Harbor resident from the motorcycle was transferred by helicopter to Atlantic City Medical Center as a precautionary measure. The rider was reportedly ejected from the bike in the accident with the Subaru. Authorities say the motorcyclist received minor injuries. Public news reports do not indicate the biker’s medical condition.